According to dictionary.com, Wellness is a noun for:
1. the quality or state of being healthy in body and mind, esp. as the result of deliberate effort.
2. an approach to healthcare that emphasizes preventing illness and prolonging life, as opposed to emphasizing treating diseases.
2. an approach to healthcare that emphasizes preventing illness and prolonging life, as opposed to emphasizing treating diseases.
These 2 definitions are very good and match up well with the Chiropractic paradigm. Let's look at why this is true. Chiropractic is a science, philosophy, and art that looks at the individual as a vitalistic and holistic being.
Vitalism is the belief that the body is a self-healing organism. It implies that there is a power within the body, that cannot be measured chemically or physically, that controls all the functions of your body. This power is known in Chiropractic as Innate Intelligence (Innate for short), and around the world as God, Allah, or whichever faith your prescribe to. Proof of this power has been observed by all of us. We get a cut on our hand and over a week's time it heals. Did you concentrate on the cut for seven days straight and repeat over and over, "you will heal, you will heal, you will heal,"? No, you went about your daily business and your body healed itself without you consciously directing it. Another example is the fact that you do not consciously cause your heart to beat or your lungs to breathe. These two things happen every second, of every day, for your entire life. These functions are maintained by Innate, which uses the brain and its connection with every cell, tissue, and organ in your body via nerves. The nerves provide information to the brain to let it know what is going on at all times and the brain communicates back and tells that specific cell, tissue, or organ how to react. It is a continuous cycle which travels from the brain, down the spinal cord, out the nerves to the cell, tissue, organ in question, back up the nerves to the spinal cord, to the brain. To see a picture of the nervous system as described, click the following link: http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/7173.html.
As a quick aside, whenever there is a metaphysical issue brought up (God, Innate, Healing Powers, Ghosts, etc) there are skeptics. And there always will be because these are things that cannot be physically or chemically measured by science, as stated above. But as one final example to leave you with, consider a cadaver compared to you. If I cut your hand and the cadaver's hand in the same spot, at the same time, what will happen? In one week we will compare you again. Your hand is healed, the cadaver's hand is still cut. What is the difference between the two of you? You both still have your brain, your nerves, your heart, lungs, stomach, pancreas, etc. You are both complete anatomically. The only difference is vitality. One of you still has a life force, whatever you choose to call it, and the other does not. One is a living, breathing, healing human being, the other is dead. Those facts are hard to argue.
Holism is the practice of looking at the individual as One. A person that comes into my office with a complaint of headaches, for example, is not viewed by me as just a head and neck. As a holistic minded doctor, I look at that person as a whole person. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. So not only do I look at the head and neck, I look at the whole body. Poor mechanics in the feet, knees, hips, pelvis, low back, etc. can cause headaches. So can a poor diet, poor posture, a negative attitude, etc. All of these things must be taken into account to get the best results for that person.
When practiced together, vitalism and holism lead to Wellness because they aim to get the person better by using the person's natural healing ability and the natural elements of our environment such as proper nutrition, proper exercise, and proper mind set (we will address these topics individually in future blogs).
We have just scratched the surface on how Chiropractic fulfills the second part of the definition of Wellness as given above. Let's now look at how it fulfills the first part, "the quality or state of being healthy in body and mind, especially as the result of deliberate effort." In other words, Wellness is a choice. Wellness is every choice you make. You bring yourself closer to Wellness whenever you choose exercise over television, broccoli over brownie, and gratitude over negativity. Chiropractors help an individual achieve Wellness in this way by being their Wellness coach. We are here to provide you with the encouragement and information you need to make intelligent and healthy choices that lead you to the longest, happiest, healthiest quality of life you can have. Modern research (Ostan, R., et. al. 2008. Immunosenescence and immunogenetics of human longevity. Neuroimmunomodulation. 15 (4-6): 224-240.) and the Bible (Genesis 6:3) both state that man is made to live for 120 years. So let us CHOOSE health and life at each crossroads of our day.
Thank you for reading and we'll talk again soon! God bless your day.
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